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Blog dedicado a la formación en todos sus ámbitos: presencial, online, a distancia
[Procomún] Día de Cooperación Europea 2014
from Educa con TIC http://ift.tt/ZGKRYz
via Educa con TIC Posteado por www.bscformacion.com
Seattle Prosecutor Dropping Seven Months Worth Of Tickets For Using Marijuana In Public
Remember that cop in Seattle accused of going rogue in light of Washington’s legalization of recreational marijuana? Officials in that city say he issued about 80% of all the tickets for using pot in public, and had urged ticketed residents to contest any and all marijuana tickets as a result. Now Seattle’s prosecutor is just wiping seven months of marijuana tickets from the board entirely.
It isn’t just the tickets from that particular police officer — who was reassigned and is now under investigation by the police department’s Office of Professional Accountability — but all 100 tickets issued between Jan. 1 and July 31, reports the Associated Press.
City Attorney Pete Holmes is moving to dismiss those and seek a refund for the 22 people who already forked over the $27 fine for the ticket.
While Seattle Police Chief Kathleen O’Toole had asked for the tickets from that one officer, who deemed the pot law “silly,” Holmes says issuing a blanket pardon is easier procedurally and make for cleaner data as Seattle keeps a handle on enforcement.
Besides, it’s not about the money, Holmes says, but educating people about what you can and cannot do (like smoking in public) under the new law.
The Seattle PD also announced this week that it’s advising cops to warn people out loud before issuing a ticket if they can, and not to take the pot when they do. And if you’re smoking on private property, you shouldn’t get a ticket, even if someone else can see you doing so.
“The goal all along has been not to issue tickets as much as to change behavior,” Holmes said.
Prosecutor to Drop All Seattle Marijuana Tickets [The Associated Press]
by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist
Olive Garden Brings Back Never-Ending Pasta Bowl
If you didn’t manage to get your paws on a Never Ending Pasta Pass to taunt us with, but still crave carbs, don’t fret. Instead, you can pay $10 and get a never-ending pasta bowl that ends after one day. You can choose between five pastas and six sauces, and add meaty toppings that start at three bucks each. Take-out is not an option. [Olive Garden] (via Brand Eating)
by Laura Northrup via Consumerist
Dept. Store Sorry For Selling Decidedly Unfunny Rape Joke Shirt
There are certain topics that don’t lend themselves to jokey T-shirts, and rape is pretty high on that list. Yet that didn’t stop one department store chain in the Philippines from selling a rape-joke shirt that even the most jaded person would find cringe-worthy.
The above shirt, which declares that, “It’s not rape… It’s a snuggle with a struggle,” didn’t amuse one woman, who found it in the boys’ section of The SM Store, a department store chain with around 30 locations in the Philippines.
After receiving more than a few angry messages about the shirt, SM issued an apology on its Facebook page.
“We have been informed via social media that we have a t-shirt in stock with a message that we too find unacceptable,” reads the message. “We do not tolerate such action. SM does not support such irresponsible and malicious acts that mock important and sensitive social issues. We have immediately pulled out all the t-shirts of the consignor that distributes them, and we are investigating why it was included in our delivery of assorted t-shirts.”
by Chris Morran via Consumerist
Kansas To Officially Declare October “Zombie Preparedness Month”
You might know to aim for the brain and that if one bites you, you’re a goner — but how else could you possibly prepare for the inevitable zombie apocalypse? Kansas wants its residents to be ready for that — or really, any kind of large scale disaster — and is declaring October “Zombie Preparedness Month” to spread the word.
Governor Sam Brownback is set to sign a proclamation declaring next month’s zombie designation on Sept. 26 in the Governor’s Ceremonial Office in the Kansas Statehouse, reports KSN.com.
The motto of the month? “If you’re prepared for zombies, you’re prepared for anything.”
Because while it’s unlikely (FOR NOW) that humans will be struck with an epidemic that turns us all into brain eaters, other really bad things could happen, so pay attention to those things for now, Kansas says.
“If you’re equipped to handle the zombie apocalypse then you’re prepared for tornadoes, severe storms, fire and any other natural disaster Kansas usually faces,” said a rep from the Kansas Division of Emergency Management. “This is a fun and low-stress way to get families involved, and past turnouts have proven it to be effective.”
The agency points to things like home emergency kits with survival supplies that last a few days, and working on an emergency plan with your friends and family in case anything happens as a way you might prepare for zombies OR a natural disaster.
You just can’t stab a tornado in the eye with a tire iron and expect it to stop, so keep that in mind.
October is zombie preparedness month in Kansas [KSN.com]
by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist
Court Shuts Down Bitcoin Mining Business For Failing To Deliver Paid-For Computers
The FTC says that Butterfly Labs took money for Bitcoin mining products like the Monarch, but failed to deliver in a timely fashion, if at all.
A federal court has temporarily shut down a Missouri-based business that sold computers specifically designed for aiding users in the generation, or “mining,” of the virtual currency Bitcoin, saying the company took — and spent — customers’ money but waited more than a year to make good on orders for one device and has failed to deliver on another.
You can read more about Bitcoin mining in our Bitcoin 101 article, but it’s the method in which the currency is created. It basically involves computers doing a lot of computing and occasionally spitting out some new Bitcoin.
And given that a single Bitcoin is now worth close to $400 (though that’s down significantly from the recent high of more than $1,000), there’s money to be made in selling machines that can do the computing quickly.
Additionally, because there is a finite limit on the total number of Bitcoin that can ultimately be mined, there are diminishing returns for your efforts. What earned a miner 50 Bitcoin in 2008 now only brings in half of that.
In June 2012, Butterfly Labs began selling BitForce mining machines, ranging in price from $149 to $29,899, telling customers that the devices were “now in final state development” and that delivery was to be expected by Oct. 2012.
But according to a complaint [PDF] filed last week in a U.S. District Court in Missouri by the Federal Trade Commission, not only did Butterfly fail to make that Oct. 2012 delivery date, but also hadn’t delivered a single BitForce machine by April 2013.
And even by Sept. 2013, nearly a year after the originally promised delivery date, some 20,000 BitForce machine buyers — all of whom had paid in full, in advance — were still waiting.
The company claimed in Nov. 2013 that it had shipped all BitForce devices, but the FTC says that customers continued to complain that they had not received their order.
The complaint states there are numerous instances of people who eventually did get their BitForce, but found that it was “either defective, obsolete, or mining far less Bitcoins than it would have had it shipped on the promised shipment dates.”
Also in 2013, Butterfly Labs started selling its newer Monarch machines, ranging in price from $2,499 to $4,680. And just like the BitForce, customers had to pay the full amount in advance. Customers were originally told they would receive their Monarchs by the end of 2013. That then became promises of April 2014 delivery, but the FTC says that as of Aug. 2014 — a full year after taking customers’ money for the devices — Butterfly had yet to ship a single Monarch.
Customers who sought refunds tell the FTC they had trouble reaching the company, and according to the complaint, even if they did get through to Butterfly Labs, there was significant confusion about the actual refund policy.
“At times, Defendants have claimed that they would provide refunds; at other times, they have stated that they have a no-refund policy,” reads the complaint. “Regardless of which purported policy was in place at the time, Defendants have often failed to provide refunds to consumers, even though they have not provided consumers with promised products or services or consumers have not received products or services for many months.”
While one might argue that it’s sometimes difficult to deliver new technology as quickly as promised, the FTC alleges that Butterfly Labs was taking customers’ money and doing lots of things with it other than spending it on manufacturing.
“Records indicate that once consumer funds enter into Defendants’ bank accounts, they are quickly dissipated,” reads a statement from an FTC attorney. “In recent months, despite receiving large sums of money each time consumers place orders, Defendants generally leave no more than approximately $2.5 million in the operating bank account. Instead, funds are depleted shortly after they enter into the bank accounts after consumers place their orders.”
The FTC says there is “substantial evidence” that corporate funds are being used for personal purposes, like shopping at department stores, day care, massages, and home improvement.
“Defendants’ corporate credit cards also reflects numerous non-business expenses, including department stores (including Nordstroms, Bed Bath and Beyond, Restoration Hardware, and Hobby Lobby), auto maintenance, gun stores and hunting stores,” reads the statement.
The FTC alleges that Butterfly Labs violated Section 5(a) of the FTC Act, which prohibits “unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce.”
“We often see that when a new and little-understood opportunity like Bitcoin presents itself, scammers will find ways to capitalize on the public’s excitement and interest,” said Jessica Rich, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.
by Chris Morran via Consumerist
FTC May Block Planned Sysco And U.S. Foods Merger
Last December, we shared the news that commercial food suppliers U.S. Foods and Sysco were planning a merger, which would put about a quarter of the country’s entire foodservice-supply business in the hands of one company. The merger hasn’t yet gone through, and the Federal Trade Commission is considering a federal antitrust lawsuit to stop it.
How would this be a monopoly when the combined company would have thousands of competitors? The problem, according to the Wall Street Journal, is that those competitors are mostly very tiny and local vendors. If the two companies joined to form a foodservice Voltron, the next-biggest competitor would be maybe one-fifth the size of the hypothetical USyscoFoods.
Of course, the FTC and U.S. Department of Justice can, at least require the companies to make pre-merger changes if the deal is to be approved. For example, they could require both companies to sell off their business in certain sectors. For example, if those companies currently compete for all of the food biz in a certain city, one of them could be forced to sell that business to a competitor.
FTC Considers Challenge to Food Merger [Wall Street Journal]
by Laura Northrup via Consumerist
Police Officers Finish Delivering Order After Pizza Hut Driver Is Injured In Car Crash
(KOIN)
It’s the joke that must be made — Portland Police not only protect, but they serve… pizza. Because after a Pizza Hut delivery driver was injured in a car crash, the cops made a special effort to ensure that his customers didn’t go hungry, and delivered up the pizza in his stead.
The driver was involved in a collision on Sept. 1 and was hurt (but is now doing better) reports KOIN, so two officers at the scene picked up the torch and went with it.
The customers say they were a bit taken aback to open the door to two cops, especially since they’d already gotten a replacement pizza after contacting Pizza Hut and hearing about the accident. The officers arrived just as they were sitting down to eat their second, half-price pizza.
“They turn around to leave, and I said, ‘whoa, whoa, whoa, – I got to get a picture of this,” the customer said. No one is going to believe Portland police delivering a pizza.’ So that’s the picture everyone saw.”
He said he wants to recognize the efforts of the two police for going out of their way to bring dinner home.
“I wanted these officers to get a little recognition because these officers went above and beyond,” he explained.
Portland police protect and serve pizza after crash [KOIN]
by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist
Minnesotans Only Have A Week Of “Tax-Free” Shopping Left On Amazon
You can now add Minnesota to the growing list of states where Amazon will be collecting sales tax from customers after a surprise announcement on Monday that, starting Oct. 1, shoppers in the state will start seeing the tax added to their purchases.
Before we continue, this is where I remind everyone that even though Amazon and other online retailers might not collect sales tax in your state, you’re still obligated to pay those taxes when you file your tax returns with the state (except in those states without sales tax). Most people don’t, which is why some claim that Amazon has an unfair advantage over retailers that do collect taxes.
Okay, back to Minnesota.
It’s unclear exactly what brought this on. Amazon had been fighting efforts by the state to compel it to collect sales tax, even cutting ties to third-party affiliate sellers in advance of a 2013 state law that requires e-tailers to collect sales tax if it has affiliates in Minnesota.
The most likely explanation is that Amazon will be opening some sort of physical operation, like a warehouse or distribution center, or even a server farm for its Amazon Web Services business, in Minnesota.
Whatever the reason, the “tax-free” Amazon experience is coming to an end for Minnesotans who never got around to paying that money to the state every year.
Amazon now collects taxes in nearly half the states in the U.S. The retailer has said it supports federal legislation that would give each state the authority to compel online businesses to collect taxes, whether or not the business has a physical presence in the state. Numerous lawmakers have attempted to make this happen over the years, but without much success.
Amazon to collect Minnesota sales tax starting Oct. 1 [StarTribune.com]
by Chris Morran via Consumerist
Drug Ring Bust Exposes Food Truck Selling Tacos With A Side Of Meth
It’s no Los Pollos Hermanos, but Mexican food and methamphetamines have met once again, this time outside the fictional bounds of Breaking Bad, on a taco truck in Denver. Of 17 people there recently indicted on charges related to trafficking/selling meth, one was accused of shilling meth right from the taco truck where she worked.
“The brazenness of this ring was astounding,” Attorney General John Suthers said, according to KUSA in Denver. “For example, customers could literally walk up to a food truck and order a side of meth with their taco.”
As part of the investigation, authorities seized 55 pounds of meth from one of the ring members’ cars, some of which was hidden in the floor. Officials are calling it one of the largest amounts of meth confiscated in a single bust in the state.
The driver of the car is accused of then distributing those drugs to his aunts, including the woman who’s accused of selling meth out of the taco truck. Drug deals went down using code words, so customers weren’t actually saying, “Two carne asade, one lengua and oh yeah, some meth.”
“In this case, we heard coded language like, ‘six pack’ and ‘yellow cups’ to set up their transactions,” Deputy AG Matthew Durkin said.
The owner of that truck says he had no idea meth was on the menu, and he won’t be charged.
AG: Food truck sells tacos with ‘a side of meth’ [KUSA]
by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist
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